Mommy Practicality's S.M.A.R.T. Blog Goals for 2016

I would like to think that I'm starting the year right now that I'll be listing down goals at the start of the year. 2015 had been ...

I would like to think that I'm starting the year right now that I'll be listing down goals at the start of the year. 2015 had been a great year both for my offline and online lives. Who wouldn't want the good vibes to continue right? I do, I do, I do, thank you very much! Looking back at last year, the things I did right should be continued such as starting the year with goals setting, engaging more with my readers via social media, sticking to my blog's purpose and not lose that voice, and by being consistent.

But apart from this, I believe that there's still a big room for improvement for my online home. I aim to achieve these goals within the year, so help me God. :) Honestly speaking, I've been lurking my other blogger friends' online homes. Their posts interest me and I take careful notice at how they tell their stories, the style of their writing, the emotions of the post, how their readers leave them thoughtful blog comments, and how their posts affect me. Deep inside me is an itsy-bitsy feeling of insecurity and I tell myself "Damn, they're really good!" I turn this small insecurity into an inspiration rather. I learn from them, like how others say they learn from me, and I pick up their successful methods to apply it on my blog. With this inspiration coming from that little insecurity, I came up with goals and I want to share them with you.

BLOG REDESIGN
I've been wanting to redesign the blog since last year but last year was way to busy for me and the designer I wish to tap to help me also had a full schedule (she's got so many clients, that's how good she is!), the revamp has to take a back seat. This time, I want to make use of my favorite colors which are Navy Blue, White, and Gold. I'm digging a calligrapher's take on my Mommy Practicality logo. The over-all theme or feel of the blog should be relaxing, serene, cool to the eyes, with a little sense of sophistication but still look practical. You get it? I think I could better explain this with a mood board, which I have yet to complete in the coming days.

BLOG SERIES
I started my Practical Fashion (where I feature what I wear, my OOTDs actually and the brands of my clothes) and Practical Finds (could be any purchase outside clothes that I find really practical or actually my shopping finds) back when I was still starting. In 2013 I think I also started my Dear Mommy Practicality segment where I feature situations of my letter-senders who need advice from me. It was well-received by then and somewhere in 2014, when I started accepting partnerships from brands and sponsored posts became more frequent, there were lesser blog series posts. Which now brings me to the next goal...

MORE CONSISTENT PERSONAL POSTS
As mentioned above, since I began monetizing my blog, which I am forever grateful for for helping the family financially, I admit to having lesser personal posts. I am guilty about it because I don't want to lose the very connection I have with my readers from the time I was still starting. Most of my personal posts are about my reflections as a mom or a woman, my children and parenting style, life events, lessons learned after going through a challenging life event, my relationship insights or learning with Macky which I now could branch out to married life with Macky, experiences being a single mom and how everyone deserves second chances. I want to write more of that once more and I intend to do so this 2016.

TAKE BETTER PICTURES
I love being in photos and taking them as well. I kinda paused posing for photos when I started gaining weight in 2013-2014. I guess that's also the reason why I posted less of my #OOTDs and stopped my Practical Fashion blog series. But, I worked on taking good photos, but I want to be better this time at taking them. In my quest to take better photos for the blog after learning a lot from the blog workshops I attended in the past, I had bought three cameras already. I think I have to learn how to set my camera manually and understand these terminologies (and how they work) better: ISOs, Aperture, Shutter Speed, Exposure, and many more.

START VLOGGING
I do have a YouTube channel, which I use to post my personal videos online. These are mostly videos of my children singing or dancing. Seldom will anyone see me on the videos talking or narrating or teaching something, but singing, yes there are a couple on my channel. I was even approached to partner with a digital company that may help me monetize my YouTube videos, but I declined because shooting is tedious for me. Creating a video (which should be informational or inspirational) would take an amount of time to produce. I don't want it a puchu-puchu video just so I have a regular content. I want my videos to be an extension of the blog. So until right now, I'm still contemplating as to the niche and possible contents for my videos. I admit to not being shy about this (I've been doing TVCs kasi and experienced playing lead roles in theater back in college), so being in videos would be something I'd be comfortable. But the actual doing and producing and editing it, are things that hold me back. Given this, and given the rise of Snapchat, I could see myself starting with that first. Why start video-blogging/Vlogging? Because, it's where blogging is transitioning. It was also a forecast of digital media experts back in 2013 (when I attended IMMAP) that videos will be the next content that people online will crave for. It takes lesser time for people to consume the content, plus anything visual attracts the consumers. I couldn't agree more.BLOG GIVEAWAYS
In 2015, I think I only had four giveaways. I used to be fairly generous in my giveaways because a lot of sponsors approach me for their products to be given away through my blog. But seriously it gets pretty tiring especially that I work full-time and that I had to send several prizes to several winners and had to shoulder the courier expenses. Plus, I also noticed, that most of my winners are professional contest joiners, which I am not really sure if they are my loyal readers. I get high engagement during the giveaway, but most of them are gone when the giveaway ends. Sadly it happens not only to me but to my other fellow bloggers.

But don't get me wrong, I still want to host giveaways, but with better mechanics which will award deserving winners. I want to actually know who are my loyal readers and reward them fairly through my blog giveaway. This year, I hope to come up with a better giveaway mechanics.

INCREASE ENGAGEMENT ONLINE
Ask any blogger if social media presence is important to them and mostly will say yes. Social media is like an extension of the blog. It's where you extend your blog and promote your new posts. It's not enough to write, you have to let your network know that you have a fresh content through social media. It's hard enough to build a following on social media, but it's harder to get your followers engaged. By engaged I mean commenting on your posts or sharing your content to their network. The true measure of success on social media is not the number of likes or followers, it's the amount of engagement you have with them. This year, I plan to work hard on increasing my engagement with my followers on my social media accounts such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. How? I should do more research, follow the successes of my mentors, do one-on-one coaching, and attend workshops to address this.

COFFEE MEET-UPS OR OFFLINE EVENTS

This is a long overdue blog goal actually. I've been wanting to meet my followers and readers for coffee or maybe over lunch. I was even thinking before to organize the meet-ups during my blog anniversary month. But for this year, maybe, I'll do it a month before my birthday since I'll be giving birth during my blog anniversary. I want to have an offline conversation with my readers who's been there since the time I started. I also want to hold workshops and collaborate with my fellow bloggers into organizing an event that would help and inspire other women, moms or not. I still have to solidify the concept and theme for the workshop.

Reading these goals excites me. I just pray for energy and time (because I'm a full-time working preggy momma) to be able to achieve these things for the blog. In summary, I want to level up my blog into something that my readers would feel very much at home to. I want the blog to be something they look forward to reading at least twice or thrice a week. I want to the blog to be my readers' source of relevant information and inspiration to live a life that's full but need not be grand. I want the blog to be a hub for my readers to make tambay and feel at home because what I share through my posts is something that's totally relateable by any woman or mom I reach. I want my blog to also be real extension of my offline home or a window to our actual abode, which could be anyone's virtual kapitbahay. Lastly, I want Mommy Practicality to perfect the pitch of its "VOICE" to reach out to more women or moms out there who want to live a quality life and believe that it's doable by living simply and practical. May that "Voice" be loud enough not only to influence, but actually move people to living a full life by choosing practicality and quality over quantity.

Welcome to Mommy Practicality 2016. I hope you enjoy the ride with me this year as I achieve these goals one by one. And if I don't, I know you'll always forgive a preggy momma right? Have a great year loves! And once again, thank you for all your support and love for the blog! Until then! :)

Hopping over from the Blissful group. Sounds like you're going to have a full year ahead Louise and hope you tick off those boxes that you set out to do. Like you, I also blogger about finding my voice on my blog again and to be more selective in my sponsorships. While these are tremendous opportunities, they also take me away from why I blog. With you on taking better photos too :)

Hello @AJugglingMom! Nice meeting you here! Hope to personally meet you in one of MIB's workshops or events. On sponsored content, it's true that they take me away too sometimes from the blog so what I do is I still personalize my sponsored post and try not to make it sound too hard-sell. And yeah, on taking better photos, I hope to attend photography workshops for non-photographers or photography for bloggers. See you on your blog soon!!! :)

Happy new year @littlemisshoney dear! Who's your web designer? On vlogging, I think like any art or skill, it will require practice... like in front of the mirror ganun. Hahaha! :) Good luck to us!!! :)

Hello Ms. Louise! I am Anj! I got to read one of your posts about wedding planning last night which made me visit your page today. It's really inspiring! Congratulations on your recent wedding, by the way! ♥As I was scrolling down the page, I saw your entry about your S.M.A.R.T. Blog Goals. Now, it has motivated me and I am setting these goals for my blog, too! Actually, when I listed down my 2016 goals before the end of 2015, I included those items on my list. You know, I've been a blogger for years but I have never really advertised it to people unless I want them to really get something from my post. Haha! I guess, this is my year :DI just subscribed to your blog. Hehe. May you continue to inspire a lot of people through your blog posts. God bless!

Hello @Angela Solomon, you just have no idea how your message made me happy and feel fulfilled for writing this post and sharing my tips based on experience. More than you thanking me, I want to THANK YOU for blessing me with this positive feelings. This is the reason why I persevere, why I continue with this passion, why I continue to share my life online. Because I know somewhere, someday, I could touch at least one life/reader/person with my blog posts. Thank you dear!!! :)

Regarding your blog, you could definitely achieve the goals you've set for yourself especially if you put your heart into it. Good luck dear! Thank you for your kind words.. you definitely made my day! God bless you and your family too! :)

Hello, I'm Louise

Welcome to my blog! I write about my practical life as a mother of three talented and handsome boys, as an ex-single mom and now a happily married woman to my long-time best friend and soulmate, as a former corporate marketing specialist, and as a life adventurer! Welcome to Mommy Practicality!

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